A 5.2-metre crocodile has been found dead in the Fitzroy River with a single gunshot wound to the head.
The killing at Alligator Creek near Rockhampton has prompted an urgent warning for travellers and locals alike to be particularly vigilant.
“People need to clearly understand that the death of this animal has changed the balance of the crocodile population in the Fitzroy and we can expect increased aggressive activity by younger male crocodiles,” Department of Environment and Heritage Protection Conservation and Biodiversity Operations Director, Michael Joyce, told the Rockhampton Morning Bulletin. “That’s because they will be competing to take the dominant position which is now vacant.”
The crocodile appears to have died sometime in the past 48 hours, and its carcass has been removed as evidence and will be forensically examined by Queensland Police.
It is an offence under the Nature Conservation Act 1992 to take an estuarine crocodile without authority and there are greater penalties in place for the unlawful take of an ‘iconic’ crocodile, defined as five metres or greater in length. The maximum penalty for the unlawful take of an ‘iconic’ crocodile is $28,383.75.
“If this iconic crocodile had been reported to the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection wildlife officers would have immediately taken steps to remove it, in accordance with the Queensland Crocodile Management Plan,” Mr Joyce said. “We don’t know at this stage how long it will take for the balance of the population to be restored so my urgent message to everyone in the Rockhampton area is to be extremely careful and to report all crocodile sightings as soon as possible on 1300 130 372.”
Meanwhile, there has been another unconfirmed crocodile sighting in the Boyne River at Gladstone. A woman contacted Gladstone Regional Council to say she had seen a crocodile near the bridge at the Benaraby camp grounds, the sixth unconfirmed crocodile sighting in the Gladstone region since the beginning of the year.
The Boyne River is located at the southern limit of croc country in Queensland.
Proves they are not protected – Bullet went through him LOL.
Seriously though theses crocs are in plague proportions and need to be either relocated or culled. Human life is more important than overpopulated protected species that are in greater numbers than when Captain Cook landed.
I reckon we ‘us’ ferals should shoot everything then would would inherit the Earth!
You get some appreciation of the confused messages the nature conservation industry gives here. Shooting the croc has “changed the balance of crocodile population” – all very bad…but if the croc had been reported, then Environment and Heritage would have removed it… wouldn’t that change the same balance? Having lived in Qld and then the NT much of my life, I can’t understand why we are so precious about crocs today. My opinion.
IMHO Vulcan, we are the interlopers in their territory. We should learn to live with them Lived on Cape York for a number of years, and there is nothing like seeing them in the wild. You just have to be sensible.
Nothing wrong with people being warned that the river might be more dangerous than usual at the moment either.